Kids Can Get Off The Couch And Into Nature At Oklahoma State Parks

Spring Break may be almost over, but the sun is finally shining and there are a lot of activities going on in Green Country that are fun for the kids and won't bust your budget. 

At Sequoyah State Park on Fort Gibson Lake, there's a lot to keep you busy: golf, the state lodge, horseback riding. If you visit, make sure you take time to stop at the Three Forks Nature Center.

"It will help kids to learn that our environment is very important," said Lorie Kerr, park naturalist.

Park Naturalist Lorie Kerr has always loved animals and has always wanted to share that love with others, especially children. That's what Three Forks Nature Center is all about.

"Kids nowadays, just don't get outside, so we're trying to bring the kids back to nature," she said. "It's amazing. Their faces just lights up. They get so excited."

Inside, there are exhibits where visitors can learn all about animals - even a hands on skins and skulls section.

"Kids don't normally get to touch and feel and see what it feels like," Kerr said.

Outside you'll find animals like Ike and Mike, red foxes rescued from a wildfire. There's Taurus, a one-winged bald eagle, and a coyote named Wiley (of course).

Taurus was caught in a power line when he was young. There's also an owl named Pretty Girl who once fell out of a tree.

"Everybody loves the animals," said Park Naturalist Lorie Kerr of Three Forks Nature Center.

There's Little Foot the beaver, fish and snakes.

"All of our animals here are native to Oklahoma," Kerr said.

In an age of video games and couch potatoes, the goal is to get kids active and learning while they have fun - to experience what Oklahoma outdoors has to offer.

"Not be cooped up in the house anymore; get back out to nature," said Lorie Kerr.

Sequoyah State Park is located just off highway 51 between Wagoner and Hulbert. There's no admission cost for the center.